Schoolgirl Amelia Hempleman-Adams learned survival techniques in a deep freeze depot on Friday, in preparation for her South Pole bid, reports Louise Johncox.
The 16-year-old from Bath was shown how to survive in sub-zero temperatures by her adventurer father, David, who has been on more than 30 expeditions and was the first Briton to reach the South Pole solo and unsupported.
Amelia is aiming to be the youngest person to ski to the South Pole by skiing the final 97 miles with her father. Later this month they start their expedition from The Farthest South Point which Ernest Shackleton reached on January 9, 1909, before he was forced to turn back.
Amelia learned how to cope with the sub-zero conditions at the Iceland warehouse in a variety of situations: how to go to the loo, change clothes and how to cook. She also practised holding a pencil with thick gloves as her father has insisted she take her homework all the way to the South Pole.
Amelia, a student at Prior Park College in Bath, is studying four AS-levels: Geography, Economics, Mathematics and PE.
“Dad doesn’t want me to get behind with my studies so I’ll be taking some homework with me. He has told me there will be quite a lot of ‘down time’ when we are travelling and then in the tents at night. I’m just not sure how I’ll feel taking notes with a pencil in the freezing cold. I’m used to working on a computer at home!”
“Amelia’s school has been very supportive and we’ll even be taking the Prior Park College flag to place in the snow at the South Pole," her father added.
"I think it’s important she comes on this expedition with me. Travelling is the university of life and I know she’ll learn a lot about the world on this trip.”
Amelia’s training session in the deep freeze gave her a real taste of the extreme Antarctic environment, but the teenager revealed she "thought he was joking" when her father first suggested it.
David said: "I tried to teach Amelia to use the Lady Jane pee bottle in her sleeping bag but she wasn’t keen. However, we all have to use pee bottles in our sleeping bags so she will have to grow used to it! I’m also going to let her do a Number 2 in the inner section of the tent which is out of the wind. There’s nothing worse than wind around your derriere."
"The temperature in the deep freeze was an average of minus 27 this morning and Amelia coped very well. She is very calm which is a relief. I thought it important for Amelia to experience minus 30 or lower and for us to test all the equipment. She has been skiing in the Alps and Canada but the South Pole is a far colder and extreme environment. I trained in the same depot for my North Pole trip and it was bone chillingly cold but it got my body ready."
One source of comfort for Amelia is the fact she needs to consume 8,000 calories a day which includes a mountain of chocolate.
“Amelia is tall and slim, built like a whippet", David added. "My job is to make sure she doesn’t get cold and maintains her calorie intake. You don’t often hear a father tell their teenage daughter to eat more chocolate but as far as I’m concerned she can scoff as much as she likes!”
There will be 10 people in the team including Norwegian adventurer Rune Gjeldnes who David claims is a worse snorer than him. Together David and Rune have spent about four years in tents on their many polar expeditions.
Amelia added, ”I think it will be hard to sleep with all the snoring, the wind and the 24 hour light so Dad has told me to sleep a lot before the trip!
“I just hope I don’t keep losing my gloves or I’ll be in trouble with Dad.”